Surprise
by FyreBrande
Summary: It's almost Brynna's birthday, and Emi has a surprise for her...


Once again, I don't own any of the characters except Brynna and the nature of Revan. All other characters etc belong to Obsidian/Bioware/LucasArts.

Surprise

"Hey, Mom, whatcha doin'?"

Emi Onasi quickly cleared the screen of the datapad in her hand as her daughter plunked down next to her. "Oh, nothing important, Bryn."

" I think it was," Brynna contradicted, crossing her arms. "Why else would you hide it from me?"

Emi chuckled. "Because it's private, that's why. Now, I need to talk to your father--alone. Go find Mission and get her to tell you our story again."

"Like I haven't heard it enough in the past nine years," Brynna teased as she obeyed.

"You still love it, don't pretend otherwise." Emi smiled as the girl vanished through the door, then stood herself and went in search of Carth. She needed to talk to him. She ran into her husband as she crossed the kitchen. "There you are."

"Oh, you lost track?" Carth grinned at her.

Emi rolled her eyes. "Very funny. I need to talk to you."

"'Bout what?" Carth asked as the two of them returned to the living room. He sat on the couch, pulling Emi down into his lap.

"Brynna's birthday," Emi replied, wrapping one arm around his neck.

"Ah. What about it?"

"I have the perfect idea for a birthday present, but I need you to agree with me before I say a word to her."

"I'm listening." Carth raised one eyebrow suspiciously.

"Well, you know how she said she wanted to be a Jedi like me?"

He caught the direction this was heading. "Emi…"

"I talked to Bastila, she said Visas , Juhani, and Mira need apprentices, since it's _our_ daughter they would make an exception about her age-"

"You want her to become a Jedi?" Carth couldn't keep all of the disbelief out of his voice, and probably gave her the wrong impression.

"Why not?" Emi demanded defensively. "She's an amazing girl, you did a phenomenal job raising her, it's her dream, I think it would be perfect."

"I'm not saying it wouldn't be. And thank you. I just think we need to think about it a little first. Her birthday's not for another week. Remember, if she joins the Order, she couldn't have a close relatonship with us or Dustil. You just came back. Do you really want to only have a couple months with your daughter?"

Pacified, Emi thought about it for a second. "I guess you're right."

"'Course I am." Carth kissed the side of her neck.

Emi sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Do I get a vote?" he teased.

"Most definitely not."

"Then I guess I'm at your mercy, beautiful."

Her green eyes gleamed playfully as she kissed him. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

"Lucky me. But, getting back on subject, let's just think about it for a few days and then decide."

"Oh, alright. I yield to your superior wisdom, Admiral Onasi." Emi kissed him again and then stood and walked out of the room. Carth watched her go, glad he didn't have to defend himself this time when she looked back over her shoulder and caught him in the act. Last time he hadn't been so lucky…

----------------

"_You've been watching me very closely lately. Why is that?"_

_Emi's demand came so abruptly, Carth couldn't manage a better reply then, "Oh, I didn't think you noticed."_

_She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "If you were any more obvious about it, your eyes would fall out of your head," she baited._

_Even knowing that she was only baiting him couldn't stop him from blushing a little. "I'm not that bad, am I?" _

"_Relax, Carth. I'm just kidding. I'm still curious, though."_

_Carth sighed in exasperation and wondered how much grief he'd get if he threw her over the edge of Ahto City. "At any rate, I wasn't ogling you. I've just been… admiring you. I've been watching you in action, your skill…you have a natural talent that's incredible."_

_Now it was Emi's turn to blush. "Thank you. Any other observations?"_

You're the most amazing--and beautiful-- woman I've ever met in my entire life. You have a wicked sense of humor. You make me think maybe I need to rethink how I kill Saul so that I actually survive the encounter. I think kissing you would be worth the chewing out I'd get from Bastila._ Deciding she didn't need to know any of that, he simply smirked and replied, "A few. But I'll keep those to myself, thank you."_

_Guessing the direction these 'observations' headed, Emi blushed. "Well, I don't mind."_

"_I wish you would have told me that sooner. It would have saved me a lot of trouble," he teased. _

_Emi thought he was serious. "Oh, really?" she demanded, glaring at him, only half teasing._

_Carth turned an even darker shade of red. "Just joking, Em, gimme a break."_

_He could tell by the look on her face that she didn't believe him._

_--------------------------------------_

Both Carth and Emi spent a few days thinking about Emi's suggestion without talking about it at all. Finally, two days before Brynna's birthday, Carth locked himself and Emi in their bedroom. "We need to decide today."

"I know. You tell me first. What do you think?" Emi bit her lip and stared at her boots.

"Much as I would miss her, I think she would make an amazing Jedi. If you still think it would be a good idea, I'm alright with it."

Emi grinned. "I do. I mean, she's really smart, incredibly talented, inherited your sense of justice along with those wonderful brown eyes, I can already tell she would be an amazing leader in a few years, and I know with you and Mission being the ones who raised her that she's got probably one of the best moral compasses of any almost-ten year old in the galaxy."

"That sound more like you trying to butter me up than listing Brynna's strong points," Carth chuckled. "She also, just so you know, inherited my temper. She doesn't erupt often, but when she does," he shook his head and whistled.

"Well, they'll help with that. I know she's not perfect. I'm just saying she's amazing and you did a fantastic job raising her."

"Thanks, beautiful. Mission helped, you know. It's not like it was all me. Much as I would like to claim credit."

"So we're really going to let her become a Jedi? You're honestly okay with it?"

Carth nodded. "Yes."

Emi grinned. "I'll tell Bastila. And then we have to figure out how to tell Bryn."

"Why don't we just tell her?"

"How? It's supposed to be a present, we can't just say 'Hey, Brynna, know how you want to be a Jedi?'"

"Why not?" Carth shrugged. "She'll be so excited she won't care how we tell her. No point in making it harder than it needs to be."

"Good point. See, this is why I married you, you're smart." Emi ginned impishly at him.

Carth chuckled and pulled her over into his lap. "And here I thought it was because I was so good looking," he teased, then kissed her.

"Well, that too," Emi admitted, leaning against him and kissing the side of his neck.

Carth was right, of course. When they told Brynna her heart's desire was going to come true, she was so excited it made Emi laugh.

"Wait, don't they only take little kids?" Brynna asked after she calmed down a little. "Wouldn't I be too old?"

"Normally, yes. But Bastila said considering who your parents are, and your potential abilities, they'll make an exception. Besides, they need as many as they can get. And if Teren trained adults, they can't very well turn down a ten year old, can they?"

"You're the best parents ever!!" Brynna plunked in between Carth and Emi so she could hug both of them at the same time. "Thank you so, so much! Do you know whose apprentice I'll be, out of curiosity?"

"Mira's, Juhani's, or Visas'. I think they're the only ones without Padawans at the moment. It wouldn't be Bastila," Emi replied, hearing the slight tinge of worry in her daughter's question.

"I know who Juhani is, but who're Mira and Visas?" Brynna frowned in confusion.

"They were companions of Teren's before he came after me. I think he and Visas were in love, honestly. He wouldn't talk about her much. I think because he missed her so badly. I knew how he felt, so I didn't push it." Emi squeezed Carth's hand and smiled at him.

"Oh. Are they good?"

"Good as any. Teren never had anything negative to say about their abilities. Why?"

Brynna shrugged. "Just curious. I think I actually met Mira once. Or, well, saw her. She was helpin' Atton fix something in the garage once when I was lookin' for Father. She's a red-head, right? "

Emi nodded. "Yes, that's her."

"I hope I end up with her. She seemed nice." Brynna hopped back to her feet. "Well, I'm goin' back to my room now. I'm gonna practice more." She picked up her other presents and disappeared down the hallway toward her bedroom. Emi chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Carth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing," Emi giggled. "Just her saying Mira seemed nice made me think of when Teren told me about _his_ motley crew for the _Ebon Hawk_."

"If he didn't have a Mandalorian and a Republic soldier, it won't impress me," Carth pointed out. "You can't get more opposite than that."

"True. It was, um, interesting to listen to you and Canderous…debate."

"You mean fight," Carth corrected. "And you probably mean it was fun to watch."

"Well, yeah, it was," she admitted, grinning and blushing at the same time. "But you held your own, so don't get mad at me."

"Oh, I'm not, beautiful, believe me. But back to Teren's 'motley crew'."

"He had a former Sith Assasin turned scoundrel for a pilot, a bounty hunter, a Sith apprentice, and Echani woman, a cryptic, traitorous old Jedi, HK-47, and a Zabrak technician who fought with him in the Mandalorian Wars. Oh, and Canderous." Emi barely kept from laughing at her husband's expression.

"Canderous??"

"Well, he's Mandalore now, but yeah," Emi chuckled as she remembered the conversation she and Teren had.

-----------------------------------------------

"_So who's Mira? You mention her a lot." Emi crossed her legs under her, ignoring the discomfort of the rocky ground._

_Teren chuckled. "She was the best bounty on Nar Shaddaa until she ran into me."_

"_What is she now?"_

"_One of the best Jedi Sentinels I've ever seen. She even beat Atton."_

"_Really?" Emi was impressed. One thing Teren would actually talk about, instead of changing the subject, was how amazingly skilled a fighter his pilot had been._

"_Well, it was only once, and he thrashed her soundly in their next duel, but for all his training, the fact anyone other than me beat him--even once--was incredible. Mira didn't ever let him forget it either. She can be merciless at times. Especially with him. I think she's secretly sweet on him, but the one time I hinted at that around her she nearly took my head off. Mandalore told her that just made the rest of us more sure I was right."_

_Emi laughed. "Now, what about Mandalore? You haven't talked too much about him."_

"_Well, he's the Mandalorian leader, obviously, but you know that. He's head of Clan Ordo, I think he said."_

"_Is his name Canderous, by any chance?" Emi asked suspiciously, hoping it was._

"_I think so. He fought during the Mandalorian Wars, and the Jedi Civil War. Why? Did you know him?"_

_Emi nodded. "I did. He traveled with me while I was hunting for the Star Maps. Good warrior, and good story teller. I loved listening to his war stories. Better than listening to one of Bastila's lectures about the danger of the dark side."_

"_I can understand that." _

"_What about Visas? Who was she?"_

_Teren seemed to shut down. "Why?"_

"_Because you say her name in your sleep, but you never mention her when you're awake. Who is she?"_

"_She was a Sith. I helped her let go of her anger. She's…special to me. Can we not talk about her?"_

_The pain in his eyes was bitterly familiar to Emi. She felt it bubble inside her whenever she thought about Carth. "Sure," she agreed._

_-----------------------------------_

"Em? You okay?" Carth voice pulled Emi back out of the past.

"Yeah. Some of my memories are a little clearer than others. I feel them as much as see them," she explained. "That was one of them."

"Mm. I see." Carth kissed her temple. "You hungry?"

Emi's stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. "Famished," she admitted with a sheepish grin.

Carth stood and pulled her up off the couch. "Well, then, while our daughter is occupied, how about some dinner?"

"Long as you cook. Even returning to civilization hasn't improved my skills in that area," Emi laughed.

"Deal." Carth kissed her as they moved in the direction of the kitchen.

They ate in relative silence, both thinking about what it would be like after Brynna left for the Jedi Academy. When they finished, Emi offered to clean up. "You fixed it, I'll clean up."

"Sounds good to me." Carth leaned against the counter and watched her, once again thanking the Force she was home. He smiled to himself. _She really is amazing. I really got lucky. Though she'd probably tell me there's no such thing as luck._ The thought made him laugh.

"What?" Emi demanded, whirling from putting away the last of the dishes.

"Oh, nothing," he grinned teasingly.

"Tell me! Please?" she begged.

"Nope." He was enjoying this too much.

"Y'know, I could just read your mind," she jokingly threatened Carth, sparkle in her vivid green eyes making him wonder if she really was just joking.

"Or use one of your mind tricks to make me tell you," he pointed out, coming around the counter and kissing her.

"If I used a mind trick on you, handsome, trust me, getting you to spill your guts would be the _last_ thing on my mind." She bit the bottom half of the seductive smile curling her lips and played with one of the fasteners on the front of his flight jacket.

Carth smiled back and kissed her neck. "I'm at your mercy."

Emi let out a soft laugh as they moved toward the bedroom.

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Sorry it's taken me so long to post another Emi fic. I've been working on Perceptions and my LSFExile fic, but I hit horrendous walls on both of them, so I decided to write another Emi piece. Hope you liked it! =)


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